Switch cupboard with devices for cooling the hot air inside

ABSTRACT

A switch cupboard with devices for cooling the hot air present inside the same. At least one vertical face is closed off by a double-walled wall element whose outer and inner wall panel form an air duct with an extensive surface. The inner wall panel has several openings spread out from each other. The openings can be covered either with cover plates, fans which operate in two directions of rotation or connecting plates with sections of hose.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a switchgear cabinet with devices for coolingthe heated air generated in the devices.

2. Description of Prior Art

Cooling devices, which can be installed on the top of the switchgearcabinet are known, which draw the heated air from the interior of theswitchgear cabinet and return it to the interior of the switchgearcabinet, after it has been cooled.

Heat exchangers designed as wall elements are known, which have the samefunction.

These known devices have one disadvantage; they cannot be adapted tovarious conditions in the interior of the switchgear cabinet. Forexample, there is the repeated desire to draw the air in a specificmanner from clearly defined locations in the interior, or to directlyconduct the returned cooled air to components mounted at arbitrarylocations of the interior.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of this invention to provide a switchgear cabinet withdevices for cooling the heated air generated in the interior so that theair circulation in the interior can easily be adapted to variousconditions.

In accordance with this invention, this object is achieved with at leastone vertical side closed off with a double-walled wall element, whoseouter and inner wall sections form an air conduit with a large surface.Several openings are cut, distributed over the inner wall section, whichcan selectively be covered by cover plates, or fans, which can beoperated in both directions of rotation, and hose sections withconnector plates.

Depending on the covering of the openings, it is possible with the fansto draw off or blow in air at all these locations having openings. Thesame applies for the hose sections, which in this case can be brought tospecific components, which are arbitrarily distributed over theinterior. Openings which are not used can be covered with the coverplates. Equipping the inner wall section as a part of the heat exchangercan be varied in many ways and optimally adapted to the conditionsprevailing in the interior.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the openings are distributedin a grid pattern in the inner wall section. Thus it is possible toassemble the inner wall section from several vertically divided wallpanels.

In one advantageous embodiment the openings have a square cross section.

If fans are used, whose input and output connecting planes are at anacute angle with respect to each other, the fans can be attached in anyarbitrarily rotated position to the square openings. Thus the directionsin which the air flow is drawn off or blown in can be oriented indifferent directions. The fans can preferably be operated as suctionblowers and pressure blowers.

If the hose sections are designed to be resilient, open ends of the hosesections can easily be guided to the components arranged at arbitrarylocations in the interior of the switchgear cabinet. It is possible tocharge the components with cooled air in a specific manner. It is alsopossible to draw off the heated air emitted by the components in aspecific manner.

The double-walled wall element is embodied as a heat exchanger, whereinthe air conduit with a large surface provides a steep temperaturegradient when filled with warm air. Good efficiency is achieved withthis because of the heat exchanger.

The double-walled wall element can close off a lateral wall or the rearwall of the switchgear cabinet. However, it can also be designed to bethe switchgear cabinet door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

This invention will be explained in greater detail by means of anexemplary embodiment, shown in a perspective partial view in thedrawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The switchgear cabinet of one embodiment has a rack 10, with verticaland horizontal frame legs 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, whose sides are or canbe closed off by means of wall elements and at least one switchgearcabinet door. As the partial view shows, a vertical side, for example,of the rack 10 is closed off by means of a double-walled wall element20, which comprises an outer wall section 21 and an inner wall section22. Both wall sections 21 and 22 form a heat exchanger with a largesurface with an air conduit 23 of a correspondingly large surfacebetween the wall sections 21 and 22.

The inner wall section 22 can also be divided into several wall panelsin the vertical direction.

Openings 25 are cut in a grid shape, distributed over the entire surfaceof the inner wall section 21, which can be selectively covered by meansof cover plates 26, or fans 26, which can be operated in both directionsof rotation, or connector plates 28 with hose sections 27. Equipping theopenings 25 with these three built-in elements can be arbitrarilyselected and optimally matched to the conditions of the interior of theswitchgear cabinet and the distribution of the built-ins. For example,the heat absorbed by a cooling element 30 can be directly removed via ahose section 27, if the hose section is brought directly to this coolingelement 30.

By means of the fans 26 it is possible to draw-off heated air or to blowin cold air at all those locations of the inner wall section 22 at whichopenings 25 are provided, if the fans 26 can be operated as suction andpressure blowers. Openings 25 which are not used are closed off by meansof cover plates 28 in order to achieve defined flow conditions in theinterior of the switchgear cabinet and over the heat exchanger.

If the input and the output connecting planes of the fan 26 are arrangedat an acute angle with respect to each other, the fan 26 can be attachedto the square opening 25 in any arbitrarily rotated position. Thus thedraw-in and blow-in directions of the fan 26 can be oriented indifferent directions, as can be seen from the two fans 26 represented inthe drawing.

The double-walled wall element 20 as the heat exchanger can alsoconstitute the rear wall of the switchgear cabinet. However, it can alsobe embodied as the cabinet door.

What is claimed is:
 1. A switchgear cabinet comprising: devices forcooling heated air generated therein, wherein at least one vertical sideis closed off by a double-walled wall element (20) with outer wallsections and inner wall sections (21, 22) that form an air conduit (23)with a large surface, a plurality of openings distributed over the innerwall section (22), and the openings each selectively covered by a coverplate (25), a plurality of fans (26) which can be operated in bothdirections of rotation, a hose section (27) with a connector plate (28),and the fans (26) having connecting planes at an acute angle withrespect to each other.
 2. The switchgear cabinet in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the openings are distributed in a grid shape over theentire surface of the inner wall section (22).
 3. The switchgear cabinetin accordance with claim 2, wherein the inner wall section (22) isassembled from vertically divided wall panels.
 4. The switchgear cabinetin accordance with claim 3, wherein the openings each have a squarecross section.
 5. A switchgear cabinet comprising: devices for coolingheated air generated therein, wherein at least one vertical side isclosed off by a double-walled wall element (20) with outer wall sectionsand inner wall sections (21, 22) that form an air conduit (23) with alarge surface, a plurality of openings distributed over the inner wallsection (22), and the openings each selectively covered by a pluralitycover plates (25), and fans (26) which can be operated in bothdirections of rotation, a hose section (27) with a connector plate (28),the openings distributed in a grid shape over the entire surface of theinner wall section (22), the inner wall section (22) assembled fromvertically divided wall panels, the openings each having a square crosssection, and the fans (26) having connecting planes at an acute anglewith respect to each other.
 6. The switchgear cabinet in accordance withclaim 4, wherein each of the fans (26) is operated in one of a suctionmode and a pressure blower mode.
 7. The switchgear cabinet in accordancewith claim 6, wherein the hose sections (27) are resilient.
 8. Theswitchgear cabinet in accordance with claim 7, wherein the double-walledwall element (20) is designed as a heat exchanger.
 9. The switchgearcabinet in accordance with claim 8, wherein the double-walled wallelement (20) is designed as one of a lateral wall and a rear wall of theswitchgear cabinet.
 10. The switchgear cabinet in accordance with claim8, wherein the double-walled wall element (20) is designed as aswitchgear cabinet door.
 11. The switchgear cabinet in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the inner wall section (22) is assembled fromvertically divided wall panels.
 12. The switchgear cabinet in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the openings each have a square cross section. 13.The switchgear cabinet in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of thefans (26) is operated in one of a suction mode and a pressure blowermode.
 14. The switchgear cabinet in accordance with claim 1, wherein thehose sections (27) are resilient.
 15. The switchgear cabinet inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the double-walled wall element (20) isdesigned as a heat exchanger.
 16. The switchgear cabinet in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the double-walled wall element (20) is designed asone of a lateral wall and a rear wall of the switchgear cabinet.
 17. Theswitchgear cabinet in accordance with claim 1, wherein the double-walledwall element (20) is designed as a switchgear cabinet door.